Matt Kenseth won seven races in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing last year.

But none were bigger than his victory in the prestigious Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

“That’s one of the biggest races of the year, in my opinion,” Kenseth said. “It’s certainly a historic race — the Southern 500 is one of the three or four races that you always hear about. It’s certainly one you always want to win.”

That happens at Darlington, an odd-shaped, narrow track where there is little room to race and a little margin for error.

“It’s bit me a lot of times,” said Busch, who won there in 2008. “I should have won probably twice as many races as I’ve won there, which is frustrating.”

No one knows the difficulty of conquering Darlington more than Jeff Gordon, who has won there seven times, but also had his share of trouble and come up short on numerous occasions.

“You have to respect it or it could ruin your day,” Gordon said. “The track drives you. At other places, we are typically trying to put the car in specific spots on the track. At Darlington, the track naturally feeds you to a certain area, which is right up next to the wall.”

The key to success, Gordon says, is pushing the limits of the car and the track without going over the edge.

“At Darlington, it’s very easy to go over the edge,” he said.

Who will go over the edge Saturday night (6:30 p.m. ET on Fox), like Busch and Kahne last year?

And who will survive to conquer one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks and biggest races?

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Favorites

Jeff Gordon

He has seven wins at Darlington, six in the Southern 500. He hasn’t won it since 2007, but had seven straight top-fives there from 2004-2010, and then finished third last year. Gordon is off to one of his best starts in years. Only one thing is missing — a win.

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Jimmie Johnson

There have been seven different winners in the first even races, and none of them were Johnson or Kenseth, the last two winners at Darlington. Johnson, who has won at Darlington three times, cherishes his 2012 win there, which was the 200th victory for Hendrick Motorsports. Another one would ease some of the frustration over what has been a tough start to the season. He finished fourth there last year.

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Matt Kenseth

Kenseth came on strong at the end of last year’s race for his first Darlington win. His Gibbs team has not been as strong so far this season, but Kenseth’s patient, calculating style fits Darlington. He could win there again.

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Kyle Busch

Busch, who won there in 2008, led 265 laps last year before the late skirmish with Kahne dropped him to sixth. He led 44 laps and finished fourth in 2012 and always seems to be around the front there.

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Sleepers

Denny Hamlin

Hamlin is on the sleeper list only because he has been disappointing this season, scoring just two top-10s and finishing 19th and 13th in his last two races. He won at Darlington in 2010 and has finished second the past two years. If his team can suddenly figure things out, he’ll be a factor at one of his best tracks.

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Greg Biffle

Biffle scored back-to-back Southern 500 wins in 2005-06. After a slow start, his team seemed to hit on something last week at Texas, leading to a sixth-place finish. If his team has the new aero package figured out, Biffle could be a factor.

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Kasey Kahne

He proved last year that he could get around Darlington. Now he just needs to stay away from Kyle Busch.

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Martin Truex Jr.

Truex, who desperately needs a good run, led 25 laps and finished fifth at Darlington in 2012. He also drives for a team that has the track figured out. Furniture Row pulled off a huge upset there in 2011, winning with Regan Smith for its only career victory. The team led 69 laps there last year with Kurt Busch. Sounds like a good combination.

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Feud to watch

Things can get hairy at Darlington, leading to dust-ups on the track and run-ins on pit road. Among the drivers who have tangled there in recent years are Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman and Kyle and Kahne last year. Harvick is full of pent-up aggression after four weeks of horrible finishes, while Kahne hasn't forgotten last year's skirmish. Either could tangle with Kyle Busch again.

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Predictions

Bob Pockrass: Jeff Gordon. He’s leading the points, and he’ll prove why because he will win at Darlington, a place where he has seven career victories. He was third there last year, one of his 19 career top-fives in 33 starts at the track. He has led 1,736 laps at Darlington. In other words, he knows how to get around one of the toughest tracks on the circuit.

Jeff Owens: Kyle Busch. Busch led 265 laps last year but didn’t win. He hasn’t forgotten that. Joe Gibbs Racing also seems to have a handle on the track. Busch will either dust the field, or blow someone’s doors off on a late restart.